Mary Ann Carey has been the district manager of Community Board 9 for 30 years.

But in September of 2012, two members of the board, Rabbi Pollack and Andrea Crawford, took her to dinner and after a “pleasant conversation,” as Carey recalls, the two mentioned that it might be time for her to retire.

“It came out of the blue,” Carey said. “I was shocked and I said I’ll think about it.”

She pondered their request, but eventually decided that she wanted to stay. “Maybe I’ll retire in two years or so,” she said.

But at Tuesday night’s Community Board 9 meeting, that decision was essentially taken out of her hands.

After hearing from over 10 supporters who spoke on behalf of Carey, the board went into private session.

After an hour of deliberation the committee decided, without a vote, to give Carey a six-month probation period, including training and a meeting with board chair Jim Coccovilo.

At the end of the six-month probation period, the board will vote on whether to keep Carey of fire her and start the search for a new district manager.

“I think communication was a big issue,” board member Alexander Blenkinsopp said. “There were problems with technology, with accountability, with willingness to revise procedures.”

Blenkinsopp said the motion to remove Carey from her position was ultimately never voted on during the executive session because the individual who put forth the motion also took it back.

“I have been one of the more vocal critics of Mary Ann Carey’s performance,” Blenkinsopp said. “But after hearing a lot of the other board member’s feelings, it seemed reasonable to give her some time.”

Before it was off the table, however, the motion had four “no” votes from Joel Kuszai, Maria Thomson, Regina Samtoro and Richard David.

The board’s move shouldn’t come as a complete shock to Carey. A few weeks ago, according to Carey, at a meeting of the Executive Committee the members went into a private session, barring her from sitting in.

Following the meeting, she said committee members told her “you’re services are no longer required.”